Sound at the zoo: Using animal monitoring, sound measurement, and noise reduction in zoo animal management.

A clear need for evidence-based animal management in zoos and aquariums has been expressed by industry leaders. Here, we show how individual animal welfare monitoring can be combined with measurement of environmental conditions to inform science-based animal management decisions. Over the last several years, Disney's Animal Kingdom® has been undergoing significant construction and exhibit renovation, warranting institution-wide animal welfare monitoring.

Completion of Latent Tuberculosis Therapy in Children: Impact of Country of Origin and Neighborhood Clinics.

Background: Successful treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is an important objective in the United States' strategy for tuberculosis (TB) control. We review the impact of demographic variables and community treatment upon completion of medical therapy of LTBI in a large pediatric cohort.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from children referred for evaluation and treatment of LTBI.

Reproductive life history traits of female orangutans (Pongo spp.).

Data from wild populations demonstrate that orangutans have the slowest life history of all the great apes. In this chapter, we provide an overview of reproduction and life history traits of female orangutans in the wild and captivity. This comparison of wild and captive data illustrates the variability that exists for orangutans.

Completion of therapy for latent tuberculosis in children of different nationalities.

We performed a retrospective review of prospectively stored data on 545 children from 54 different birth countries with latent tuberculosis cared for in a pediatric tuberculosis clinic between August 1, 2005 and July 31, 2006. For analysis, patients were grouped into 6 geographic regions. The overall rate of completion of therapy was 54.

Fertility and mortality patterns of captive Bornean and Sumatran orangutans: is there a species difference in life history?

Across broad taxonomic groups, life history models predict that increased ecological predictability will lead to conservative investment in reproductive effort. Within species, however, organisms are predicted to have increased reproductive rates under improved environmental conditions. It is not clear how these models apply to closely-related species.

Personality and subjective well-being in orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abelii).

Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abelii) are semisolitary apes and, among the great apes, the most distantly related to humans. Raters assessed 152 orangutans on 48 personality descriptors; 140 of these orangutans were also rated on a subjective well-being questionnaire. Principal-components analysis yielded 5 reliable personality factors: Extraversion, Dominance, Neuroticism, Agreeableness, and Intellect.